Flushing device

ABSTRACT

AN ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC MECHANISM FOR FLUSH TOILETS IS DISCLOSED WHICH IS SUFFICIENTLY COMPACT TO PERMIT ITS INSTALLATION INSIDE THE WALL BEHIND THE TOILET BOWL. THE MECHANISM EMPLOYS A FLUSH VALVE WHICH IS DIRECTLY LINKED TO A HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR WITHOUT ANY INTERVENING MECHANICAL LINKAGE SO THAT THE HIGH MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE REQUIRED FOR MECHANICALLY ACTUATED DEVICED IS AVOIDED. THE DEVICE USES A SIMPLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TO ACTUATE THE FLUSH VALVE AND A SECOND SOLENOID VALVE WHICH IS AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED BY A LEVEL SENSING DEVICE TO REFILL THE WATER STANDPIPE.

United States Patent 3,621,495 FLUSHING DEVICE Monte A. Carson, 4512 Bates Drive, Yorba Linda, Calif. 92686 Filed Aug. 14, 1970, Ser. No. 63,881 Int. Cl. E03d 3/04, 3/06, 3/08 US. Cl. 4-31 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An electro-hydraulic mechanism for flush toilets is disclosed which is sufiiciently compact to permit its installation inside the wall behind the toilet bowl. The mechanism employs a flush valve which is directly linked to a hydraulic actuator without any intervening mechanical linkage so that the high maintenance and service required for mechanically actuated devices is avoided. The device uses a simple electrical system to actuate the flush valve and a second solenoid valve which is automatically controlled by a level sensing device to refill the water standpipe.

This invention relates to a valve mechanism for flush toilets and, in particular, relates to an electrically controlled mechanism.

Flush toilets customarily employ bulky water closets which are supported above the bowl, between the bowl and the Wall behind the toilet. -In this construction, they substantially increase the floor space occupied by the toilet assembly despite the fact that in most construction, ample space for a suitably designed water closet can be found in the wall immediately behind the toilet. Some attempts have been made to utilize this wall space, however, these have employed mechanically actuated valves which require a substantial amount of maintenance. Some of these prior devices have placed the mechanism in a housing which is externally positioned from the wall for accessibility with no resultant saving in floor space.

It is an object of this invention to provide an electrohydraulic mechanism which is simple in design and is maintenance free for flush toilet operation.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such mechanism in a compact assembly which can be positioned within a wall behind the toilet bowl.

It is also an object of this invention to provide Water storage means for such mechanism which can be positioned within a wall behind or adjacent to the toilet bowl.

Other and related objects will be apparent from the following description of the invention.

The preceding objects are achieved by this invention which comprises a water storage vessel of shape and size to be positioned within a wall, outlet port means at the base thereof which communicates to the inlet to the toilet bowl and valve closure means in the port which is directly linked to a hydraulic actuator without any intervening mechanical levers or arms. An electrically actuated valve means couples a fluid pressure supply to the hydraulic means with a manual switch to start the flush action. The filling of the water storage vessel is controlled by a second electrically actuated valve which is connected to the elec tric supply by switch means that is actuated by a water level sensing means on said vessel.

The invention will now be described with reference to the figures, of which:

FIG. 1 shows the in-wall mounting of the inevntion;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows an electric circuit of the invention; and

FIG. 4 shows an alternative electric circuit.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the invention is shown mounted within wall which is directly behind the toilet bowl 12 and which is cut away to reveal the installation. The Wall is of conventional frame construction with studs 14 and lintel 16 which is nailed between the studs at the proper elevation for the support of the device. The toilet bowl can be mounted flush against the wall and the lintel 16 can be notched or bored to permit extension of a conduit from the bottom of the device to the toilet bowl.

The device comprises a vessel which is formed of housing 18 and water storage vessel 20 superimposed thereon in a fluid tight seal. An opening 21 is cut in the wall to provide access to the Hush mechanism for servicing and installation of the device. A cover plate 22 is secured over the opening by means such as spring tabs which lock the cover in place or, as shown, by a frame 24 on which the cover is hinged. The actuation switch 26 can be mounted in the door with leads to the valves and electric supply.

FIG. 2 shows the device in greater detail. Housing 18 has a horizontal partition 28 with outlet port 29 and a removable front wall 30 which can be secured by screw fasteners 32 that engage tapped bores 34 in the housing. Alternatively, the cover wall 30 can be permanently secured to the housing. A sealing gasket 36 can be provided to make the housing water tight. The housing and piping shown herein can be of metal or plastic as desired. As shown, the housing and piping are formed of plastic such as polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene and the joints between the housing and the piping are conventional cemented plastic joints. Threaded construction with plastic or metallic materials of construction can also be used. The housing 1 8 can be a single integral casting or can be formed from sheet material.

The bottom wall of the housing has an outlet port in which is secured conduit 38 that communicates to the inlet to the toilet bowl. The outlet port 29 in the horizontal partition of the housing is sealed by valve closure member 40 which is supported in this port and is movable therein between open and closed positions. The lower compartment of housing 18 contains the hydraulic means for actuation of the valve closure member 40.

The hydraulic actuation means comprises cylinder 42 with reciprocable piston 44. Member 40 is directly linked to piston 44 by shaft 46. The upper end of the shaft has a neck of slightly reduced diameter with a shoulder on which plate 48 rests to support member 40. The valve closure member is preferably formed of a relatively flexible material such as rubber to insure that it will seal tightly about the port 29'. The shaft end is also threaded and extends through a central hole in member 40 and washer 50 and nut 52 are placed on the shaft to secure member 40 tightly to the shaft.

Cylinder 42 is shown as a pipe nipple which fits into elbow 54 and which is fitted with cap 56. The cap has a central bore for sliding accommodation of shaft 46. The shaft is bolted to piston 44, or preferably is turned into a tapped bore in the piston. To insure smooth action, a bearing sleeve formed of brass or a plastic such as Teflon or nylon which has a low coefficient of friction can be inserted in the nipple and the piston can be formed of a similar material. The bore in cap 56 can also support a bushing formed of such materials through which is extended the shaft 46.

An orifice 60 can be tapped in either the base of cylinder 44 or in elbow 54, as shown, to permit drainage from the cylinder. This orifice is of a predetermined size to provide for slow drainage of the cylinder beneath piston 46. Preferably, the area of the orifice is sufificient with regard to the volume of the cylinder and the weight of the piston and valve member assembly to provide a drain period of from 5 seconds to about 45 seconds, thereby duplicating the fiush time for conventional toilets.

[Elbow 54 is supported on the end of conduit 62 which is connected to an inlet port 63 in the wall of housing 18. Conduit 64 is connected to this port externally of the housing with solenoid valve means 66 being supported between the water inlet line 66 and the housing. This valve is of a conventional type with spring means that bias it into a closed postion and electromagnetic means that bias it into an open position.

The water line 66 is also connected to the inlet of a second similar valve 68 and a conduit 70 which communicates with the upper chamber of housing 18. Check valve means are provided in this line to prevent accidential back flow of water in this line. This comprises cap 72 with ports 74 and spring 76 to bias valve member 78 against the discharge end of conduit 70. A conduit 80 is provided from conduit 70 to the lower chamber of housing 18 to provide a discharge into this chamber, and into the toilet bowl, while the upper chamber and standpipe are filling.

standpipe 82 is secured in a bore in housing 18 so that it is filled with water from conduit 70. This standpipe can be a conventional metal or plastic pipe which is secured by either a threaded or cemented joint in collar 84 which is integral with the housing. The standpipe is closed with cap 83 and a vent line 85 communicates between the upper end of the standpipe and the lower chamber of housing 18. This line is sized sufficiently large to permit rapid filling of the standpipe.

Water level sensing means are provided to actuate the valve 68. The device shown in FIG. 2 is a pressure sensing means inserted in bore 86 of housing 18. Inserted in this bore is a nipple 88 with a flanged face that is mounted in an assembly with flexible diaphragm 90 ring 92 and plate 94. A pin 96 which has a flange base 98 is mounted in the assembly with the base against the diaphragm and the opposite end projecting through a central bore in plate 94. A switch is supported on the means with its lever opposite the end of pin 96. This switch is shown as a normally closed switch 100. Suitable spring means such as a spring washer can be mounted in ring 92 to supplement the force of the spring of switch 100 and bias the base 98 against the diaphragm 90.

A mechanical trip for the valve member 40 is also provided in the entire assembly in the event of electrical failure. This comprises lever 102 with hand grip 104 which projects through gromet 106 that is inserted in the wall of housing 18. The inner end of the lever is looped about shaft 46 beneath the valve closure member -40. The valve member may thereby be forced upwardly by this lever to discharge the standpipe into the lower chamber of the housing bowl and the toilet bowl.

FIG. 3 shows the electric circuit of this device. A suitable source of electrical energy such as 110 or 12 to 24 volt, alternating current, is supplied across terminals 108 and 110. Manual switch 26, when depressed, actuates valve 66 into an open position which opens member 40 and floods the lower chamber of the housing 18 and the toilet bowl. The discharge of water from the housing reduces the pressure on diaphragm 90 and closes switch 100, thereby opening valve 68. As water slo wly drains from beneath the piston 44 in cylinder 42, the piston and member 40 descend to close port 29. This permits the upper chamber and standpipe 82 to fill with water until the pressure head of Water actuates switch 100 into an open position, closing valve 68. The system is then ready for another flush cycle.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative wiring system for the mechanism. This system furnishes a time delay that is controlled by a relay holding coil 29 which is associated with switch 27. A conventional time delay relay 31 is used in series with switch 27 and solenoid valve 66 to hold the valve open for a period of from about to about 45 seconds, preferably from about 7 to about 15 seconds. This is achieved by using a holding relay 29 connected across the time delay relay, which is selected to remain closed for the desired time period and then open. Resistor 33 and resistor 35 are sized to provide the necessary current to relay circuit and coil 29. This circuit can be used without any orifice 60 or, preferably, a small orifice is provided to insure that the piston 44 will retract in cylinder 42.

The water storage vessel can be a large diameter pipe as shown at 82 or can be a more compact tank such as shown at 20. For ease of construction and installation, a tank is preferred and the tank can be formed of sheet stock or can be cast of plastic, ceramics or metal. The Water storage vessel can be under the line water pressure, however, I prefer to use a vessel that is vented to the atmosphere. Line should be sized sufficiently to drain the full flow discharge from line 70 to avoid overflowing of the water storage vessel in the event of any malfunction in the mechanism. To permit its installation in the wall, the water storage vessel should be no greater than about 4 inches, preferably 3.5 inches in depth.

This invention has been described with reference to the particularly illustrated and presently preferred mode of practice. It is not intended that this disclosure be unduly limiting of the invention, but rather, it is intended that the invention be defined by the means and their obvious equivalents set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

'1. A flush mechanism for use with flushing toilets that comprises: a water storage vessel; an outlet port in the lower wall portion of said vessel; conduit means from said outlet port to the inlet to a toilet bowl; an inlet port to said vessel; valve closure means supported in said outlet port in movable relationship therein between open and closed positions; hydraulic actuation means comprising cylinder and piston means carried by said vessel; shaft means extending directly from said valve closure means to one of said cylinder and piston means; valve means connecting a source of fluid pressure to said hydraulic means to cause relative movement between said piston and cylinder means; second valve means connecting a supply of water under pressure to said inlet port; electrical means associated with each of said first and second valve means for moving said valve means into open and closed positions; manual switch means to connect said electrical means of said first valve means to an electric signal and thereby open said valve; water level sensing means in said housing; automatic switch means responsively connected to said Water level sensing means to connect and disconnect said electric means to said second valve means and thereby open said valve means when said level is less than a predetermined amount and to close said valve when said level reaches said predetermined amount.

2. The mechanism of claim 1 including an orifice of predetermined size to permit drainage of water from said cylinder and thereby permit retraction of said piston and seating of said valve closure means in a predetermined time from about 5 to about 45 seconds after closure of said first valve means.

'3. The mechanism of claim 1 including a housing having a transverse partition dividing said housing into upper and lower chambers with said water storage vessel superimposed on and in open communication with the upper chamber of said housing and said outlet port is in said partition with said cylinder and piston means in said second chamber directly beneath said valve closure means.

4. The mechanism of claim 3 including lever means extending from the exterior of said housing into interconnection with said valve closure means whereby said valve closure means can be manually actuated by sai lever means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Murray 430 Opperman 431 Judell 430 UX Murphy 4-14 Rupert 4-30 Springer 426 X Skousgaard 426 6 3,555,571 1/1971 Gibbs et al 431 2,957,181 10/1960 Lamping 4---26 3,029,443 4/ 1962 Naccarato 426 3,541,614 11/1970 Zorn 4100 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,043,968 11/1958 Germany 426 HERBERT F. ROSS, Primary Examiner 10 H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

426, 100, 101, DIG. 3 

